Undoubtedly, the number of electric vehicles sold in the United States is going up. We believe there is a mix of buyers who purchase for environmental reasons and those who buy for status reasons. Either way, among those buyers, an increasing number are committing to payments of over US$1,000 a month. A new Edmunds report indicates monthly new car payments topped $1,000 for a record 14.3% American consumers in Q3 2022.
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Edmunds took a close look at the share of monthly payments over US$1,000, and here is what their findings uncovered. The results include non-EV vehicles as well.
- More than 1 in 4 consumers who financed an EV committed to a monthly payment over $1,000. 26% of consumers who financed an EV committed to a $1,000+ monthly payment, compared to 24% of consumers who financed a plug-in hybrid, 14% who financed a gas-engine-only vehicle, and 4% who financed a hybrid vehicle.
- Two mainstream brands known for their popular truck offerings made it to the top 10 list of makes that commanded the greatest share of $1,000+ monthly payments. Though luxury brands dominate the list, GMC earned a No. 7 spot with 41% of its shopper base committing to a $1,000+ monthly payment and Ram took the No. 10 spot with 36% of its shopper base committing to a $1,000+ monthly payment. The full list of makes ranked by share of $1,000+ monthly payments can be found below.
- Large trucks and large SUVs dominated the top 10 list of models that commanded the greatest share of $1,000+ monthly payments. Ford F-150, Ram 1500 and Chevrolet Tahoe captured the highest percentage of monthly payments over $1,000. The Ford F-150 made up 5.6% of all new vehicle loans made in Q3 with a $1,000+ monthly payment. The top 10 list of models ranked by share of $1,000+ monthly payments can be found below.
- States with consumers that favor large truck purchases are leading the country in the greatest share of $1,000+ monthly car payments (infographic available). Wyoming, Texas and Utah had the greatest percentage of new-car shoppers who agreed to a monthly payment over $1,000 (25.7%, 20.8% and 19.1%, respectively). The full list of states ranked by share of $1,000+ monthly payments can be found in an infographic on Edmunds.
“Despite worrisome macroeconomic conditions, Americans are spending more money than ever on new vehicle purchases,” said Jessica Caldwell, Edmunds’ executive director of insights. “Ongoing inventory shortages are partly to blame, but this trend is also a reflection of consumer preferences. In the past decade, we’ve seen Americans embrace a bigger-is-better mindset by gravitating toward larger vehicles with more creature comforts, technology-heavy features and, more recently, electrified powertrains — but that all comes with added cost. Rising interest rates combined with higher prices has sent monthly payments soaring to new heights.”
“A pullback of lease incentives is yet another contributing factor to these rising payments,” said Ivan Drury, Edmunds’ director of insights. “As leasing grows increasingly more expensive, more affluent consumers are instead opting to finance luxury brands and large vehicles. And with few lease or finance incentives expected from automakers in the coming months, and yet another rate hike by the Fed anticipated in November, we expect that monthly payments topping $1,000 will become even more common.”
Edmunds
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